Our Weekend Roadtrip to Woolaroc

we got a wild hair.

this past saturday, while enjoying our chocolate sundaes, tripp and i were discussing our plans for sunday.

me – so babe…what’s on your agenda tomorrow?

tripp – not much.  probably get my hair cut.  maybe wash the cars. you?

me – well just need to catch up some laundry and clean the kitchen, but that’s about it.

tripp – ok.  sounds good.

i know…we lead an exciting life right?

well so finish our shakes and then we’re walking out to the car.  and then i turned to tripp and i said, “Well, what if we {{sshhh…you guys don’t tell anyone i said this}} skipped church and took a little roadtrip?”  and tripp’s eyes kinda lit up and i got my (in tripp’s words) ‘shit-eatin’’ grin. 

once we got in the car, we started talking about options that were within a couple hours’ drive.  and tripp mentioned that he had never been to woolaroc, so the decision was made.

if you’re not familiar with it, woolaroc is a museum and wildlife preserve located about 45 minutes northwest of tulsa in the beautiful osage hills.  i’ve actually been there once…about a million years ago when i was in third grade i think.  and about all remember is wrapping up a can of soda and putting it in the freezer the night before.  it really made an impact as you can tell.

but woolaroc is really a remarkable place. 

you can check out the website here.  but the short story is that Frank Phillips, the founder of Phillip Petroleum Company, came to this part of the start to drill oil wells back in the early nineteen-hundreds.  he fell in the love with the rolling hills and rugged landscape so he made this land a summer retreat for his family.  oh and fun fact – woolaroc stands for Woods, Lakes, and Rocks.

one of the big draws is the 3700 acre wildlife preserve with over 30 species of exotic animals. 

including the venerable American Bison or buffalo.

when we got there, there was a herd of elk just roaming across the road.

so neat!

and then of course the other big draw is the museum.

according to the website-

The Woolaroc Museum presents one of America’s most unique displays of Western art and artifacts; Native American pottery, baskets, beads, blankets and cultural art; historical displays and one of the most complete collections of Colt firearms. It is one of the most outstanding western art collections in the world that also represents the culture and lifestyles of the people and peoples of America and the American West.

i will tell you that i paid much closer attention this time around.

so tripp and i checkout out all the cool stuff in the museum and the we walked around the grounds of the main lodge.  spring was totally in full swing there.

so the main lodge is where frank would entertain out of town guests and dignitaries.  i just loved this big front porch. 

can you imagine sitting here and drinking coffee looking out over this view?

i would never get anything done…i’m just sayin’. 

so after we got finished with our walking tour, we made our way over to the picnic area where we enjoyed our lunch.  as you can see i was an invaluable help getting everything out.

oh so i almost forgot, while we were driving through the park we saw so many interesting birds.  i actually caught a glimpse of an eastern bluebird, but i couldn’t get my camera out fast enough to get a good shot.  but check out this cool bird!

isn’t that cool?? AND because i’m total bird-nerd these days, i brought my bird guide along with us and found out that he’s a summer tanager. who as his name would suggest spends his summers here in the oak woods of oklahoma. 

oh and then i saw this lovely little meadowlark who sang the sweetest song.

oh and because i’m, well, me…i had to take picture of the wildflowers.

after lunch we left the park and headed on back home.  and can i tell you…it was just such a fun day.  honestly, just so nice to see something different – even if it was just a short drive away.  and probably even more so, it felt so good for my world-weary soul to get away from the news.  unplug from my computer.  spend a fun afternoon with my beloved.

i’ll bet that there’s something like this in your neck of the woods.  i mean, maybe it’s not wildlife preserve in osage county.  but still…i just highly encourage you seek out the neat things your area has to offer.  it does a body good.

peace, kelly